RGB makes rail truck donation to local railway

RGB Building Supplies has donated five bogie rail trucks originally used to transport timber at the builders merchant’s former base at Rolle’s Quay, Barnstaple, to the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway.

Having occupied the former site, which until 1935 was the headquarters of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, RGB utilised the bogies to move timber from the yard into the sawmill on the existing rail track. Timber was then loaded onto another truck and pushed by hand along the track to the timber storage area ready for sale.

RGB began using side loader lorries to move the majority of the timber around its yard from the late 1960s, but the bogies still played some part right up until RGB’s move from Rolle’s Quay to its current location on Pottington Business Park in 2005.

Keen to preserve its history, RGB transported the bogie trucks to the new site and placed them in storage, even though they were no longer used.

Martin Budd, from Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, said: “A big thank you to RGB for donating the bogies to us. On initial inspection, we believe they could date as far back as World War I, so they are in relatively good condition.

“However, we are planning on restoring them as much as we can and putting them to good use in our planned Blackmoor Gate shed.”

Paul Turner, finance director at RGB Building Supplies, said: “Due to expansion, we are redeveloping our current Barnstaple site to create more head office space, but as the trucks played an important role in our history, we wanted to make sure they were preserved and went to a good home.

“We’re delighted that Lynton & Barnstaple Railway will be restoring them and hopefully making use of them again.”

Four years since its founding on 4 July 2013, Grown in Britain, the British-grown timber marketing campaign, has the support of nearly 200 organisations in 15 different sectors from construction companies to wildlife organisations.